Old Friends
by drakontion
Summary: Catching up on old works. Kaidan runs into an old friend.


Kaidan checked the time. Dammit, he was going to be late. He swore quietly to himself and finished shaving, wiping his jaw clean. He pulled on a shirt and smoothed it out, picked up his jacket and was on his way to the door when it chimed at him.

He smiled wryly. _I bet it's Shepard, come to check up on me_, he thought. Not bothering to answer the chime, he threw the door open, shrugging into his jacket. "I'm sorry I'm running late, Shep…"

She looked up at him. She most definitely was _not_ Shepard. She was someone he hadn't seen in half a lifetime, someone he'd given up all hope of ever seeing again.

"Rahna?" he croaked.

She smiled in that sweet shy way he'd loved as a teenager. "Kaidan," she said softly, ducking her head.

He was planted in the doorway, jaw open and eyes wide in shock. "Rahna?"

Her smile widened. "Yes, Kaidan?"

"What… but… what…?"

She looked up at him, blinking patiently as he stammered. "Do you mind if I come in?"

"I, uh. Yes. I mean! No. No, of course not." He opened the door wider and gestured in. She stepped past him delicately, almost floating, trailing the scent of an exotic spicy musk behind her, and walked to the middle of the room, looking around.

Kaidan was suddenly glad he'd cleaned his apartment earlier, in the hopes of… well, in hope. His apartment was small and utilitarian; spare, but clean and tidy. He wondered what she saw when she looked at it.

He gestured at the sofa. "Please, sit."

As she sat and arranged herself he studied her. She was still the same Rahna – the same silken tumble of sable hair, the same midnight eyes, the same delicacy and grace. Her figure had ripened with the passing of years but save for a few character lines around her eyes she hadn't changed at all. He became aware that he was staring, and blushed slightly.

"Rahna – what are you doing here?"

She tilted her head to the side, dark eyes watching him. "I came to see you, of course."

"But… why? Why, after all these years?"

"I couldn't, earlier. I had… obligations." She shrugged, and the gesture was a dance. "I'm free of them now, though."

"Oh," he said, lamely. She patted the seat next to her and he sat down. Close to, he could feel the resonance of her biotics. It tingled up his spine in tiny waves. Her scent was heady, compelling. Her eyes were depthless pools of night, just as he remembered. He felt himself drawn into them as she continued.

"I've followed your career all these years, Kaidan. Watched stories about you on the extranet. When you were out in the Traverse hunting geth, in the Battle of the Citadel…" she pressed a delicate hand to her heart "I was so worried about you."

She smiled at him, and his heart turned over. "I was so glad you were safe, Kaidan."

He stared at her. "You followed me? But, Rahna… I thought you hated me!"

Rahna shook her head slowly, her eyes holding his. "I never hated you, Kaidan. I was young, scared. I had someone else's blood on me for the first time in my life." She shuddered and he watched, captivated, as fascinating things happened under the bodice of her dress. "I can still remember the heat as it splashed on my face, the taste in my mouth."

Her lips bowed downwards in remembrance and she looked up at him from under sooty eyelashes. "After my father took me away I calmed down. Had time to think. I regretted what happened. What I said. I wanted to apologise. I've wanted to for seventeen years. I'm sorry, Kaidan. So very sorry for what happened."

She took his hand in hers and looked at him earnestly. "Can you forgive me, Kaidan?"

Kaidan swallowed. Her hand was soft and white and warm. He felt like all the nerves in his body were wired to that one small point of contact.

"Of course," he said huskily.

She smiled and her face illuminated, eyes sparkling. She was so incredibly beautiful, a ghost from his past come not to haunt him but to apologise for haunting.

She shifted closer to him on the sofa, her knee brushing his, the contact sending ripples of warmth up his leg.

"I just wanted to let you know," she added softly, "that I'm all grown up now." She reached up and cupped a hand on his jaw and he inhaled sharply at the feel of her palm on his newly-shaven skin. "And I'm not afraid any more." And she pulled him down and kissed him.

Her lips were soft and warm, plush beneath his. Kaidan's eyes slid shut as he kissed her back, his tongue flicking her lips which parted obediently. Her mouth tasted of honey and mint, spice and tea; and he drank it in. She took his captured hand and pressed it to her breast, then snaked her arms around him and twined her fingers in his hair.

He cupped her automatically, a thumb brushing across a stiffening nipple, the nap of the fabric of her dress catching on the roughness of his skin. She sighed into his mouth and pressed herself closer to him. Her body was lush and pliant, as unlike Shepard's as could be.

_Shepard. Fuck!_

Kaidan grasped Rahna by the shoulders and pushed her away. She looked at him confusedly.

"Rahna… I'm sorry. I can't do this now."

She bit her lower lip and his eyes were drawn to her mouth. "But, Kaidan. I don't understand."

He raked a hand through his hair, exhaling heavily. "I'm sorry, I just can't… not right now."

Her eyes were suspiciously bright. "But I'm only here tonight. Tomorrow I return to Earth." She looked at him pleadingly. "Kaidan, please…"

Kaidan groaned. _Why now? Why did she have to come in through my door now?_

He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and made his decision…


End file.
